Tuesday, August 6, 2019

AP Euro FRQ on Renaissance Essay Example for Free

AP Euro FRQ on Renaissance Essay Even though the renaissance had begun in main Italian city states by 1347, the rest of Europe was still basically Medieval in culture and outlook. Analyze how the Black Death put an end on to this medieval culture and hastened the development of the renaissance.† The Bubonic plague, also known as Black Death invaded the bodies of 50% of the English population, flourishing them with welts, 104-degree temperatures, bruising, wretched stench, coughing and death within 24 hours. This awful disease forced an end to the medieval ages, creating a new way of political, economical and cultural thinking, which today we call the Renaissance. Through the inflation on silver, diminishing use of knights and castles and imposing parliaments on the king Europe was brought to a dawn of a new era, the Renaissance. When the Bubonic plague came to an end, the demand for peasants was at an all time high. This in turn gave the peasants an idea to demand more money for their work. The king had no problem paying more since his plan was to fill silver coins with half lead and lead peasants into inflation. Money would soon become worth less than it had and the amount of coins would not make up for the item being purchased. This kept the peasants stuck giving more money to the king to be grant more coins. Inflation on coinage in Europe leads to a surplus of money back into the royal family. Thus leading to the development of a renaissance lifestyle where the king traps peasants into giving more money to the throne and leading to a continuation of inflation for the next 6oo years. The loss of population from Black Death and the new ways of protection and modern thinking from the 100-year way lead to modernization for Europe. France and England were fighting over the right of the French throne. A critical turning point was The Battle of Ageneout in 1415. The French had 1,750 knights compared to England’s 46 archers. When the battle had begun the French proceeded to get stuck in the mud from the rain the previous night and the English archers killed, injured or captured all the Frenchmen. This battle marked the importance of archers over knights and a less amount of men in an army. Another idea taken out of medieval times was castles. Cannon balls were being made to be able to crash down a castle, therefore making these structures useless to the now more modern European. Modernization began to come to use after the Black Death forced Europeans to change their way of living through the renaissance by removing use of knights and castle and alter to a more modern lifestyle of using archers in military force and living in gunpowder fortification rather than castles. After Black Death had wiped out nearly half of the peasant population in Europe, the king had to establish a new way to bring in revenue. His thoughts directed towards taxing the rich considering the poor had nothing to give. This idea angered merchants, clergy and nobles and gave them an idea to make in turn with the king. If the king were to tax the merchants and clergy, they had the right to form parliaments. These parliaments took away the power of the king and stopped him from abusing his throne through taxation and government decisions, thus destroying the medieval way of power and leading to a modern way of governing typified by the Renaissance.

Monday, August 5, 2019

Poverty: Individuals And The Wider Community

Poverty: Individuals And The Wider Community This essay will discuss what is meant by the term Poverty, how it affects individuals and the wider community as well explaining why it is important for Social Workers to have a clear understanding of these issues. By looking at the organisations in place in the UK, in areas such as education and health and social care establishments; this essay will demonstrate how the structures of these organisations both help and hinder Social Workers in their role and how it affects the workings of daily practice. The UK has the oldest and biggest National Health Services in the world, so this essay will also go on to compare the provision in this country with that in the USA. As a first world country, the USA has an economy and culture not vastly different from that in the UK, which makes for some interesting comparisons of the care they both provide. Both the UK and the USA spend the same proportion of their annual budget on social services and education and have a similar rate of poverty. Poverty is a common term which many people would define as simply being a lack of financial resources. This is a very constricted view which makes it difficult to determine how many people live in poverty because the definition is vague and subjective. To understand and measure poverty and its impact upon individuals and the community, it is important to define it further. Instead of one main definition for poverty, sociologists have agreed there are two main types; absolute and relative poverty, as described by Giddens (2009). Absolute poverty is used to describe the inability to provide the basic human needs; food, accommodation and clothing, on a budget of around $1 US dollar per day. The idea of absolute poverty is a global one which can be applied regardless of country or culture and applies equally to people of similar ages and abilities. According to a recent study by UNDP (2010), as many as a third of the worlds population live in absolute poverty. Due to the modern welfare state and benefit system in place in the UK today, no one is expected to survive on $1 per day. However, figures provided by The Poverty Site (2010) show that approximately 9% of the population in the UK have an income which equates to only 40% of the national median income. This has risen almost 7% in just over 20 years and suggests that poverty is on the increase in the UK. These statistics would also suggest that people living in the UK are affected by relative poverty as opposed to absolute poverty. Relative poverty compares the income of individuals to the national or local average, and where it falls below 40-60% of that average, the individual is said to be living in relative poverty. There is still some debate about where the percentage rate should fall but many agree it should be 60% of the national median income (Giddens, 2010). This is referred to as the poverty line; those below this line live in relative poverty. Certain groups of people are more likely to find themselves living in poverty, these include; children, women (particularly single mothers), people with disabilities, ethnic minorities and the elderly. Cunningham Cunningham (2009), Giddens, (2010) and Llewellyn, et al (2008) all agree the reason these groups are more likely to suffer from poverty than other groups is a direct result of social exclusion. Social exclusion is a term which grew in popularity in 1997 when New Labour was re-elected into government. Part of the pre-election campaign of New Labour was to tackle the root causes of the issues affecting those who were marginalised by main stream society (The Poverty Site, 2010). People, who for reasons including; age, race, gender and class are often denied access to service and opportunities making it easier to exclude them from society. This was evident when the BBC undertook a survey, and found that when considering job candidates, whose qualifications and experience were almost identical; those with a name traditionally given to people from non-white backgrounds were far less likely to be called to interview, proving that racism is still present in the workplace, (Cunningham Cunningham 2009). To tackle some of the inequalities present in mainstream society, New Labour introduced a number of initiatives and policy changes to improve the standard of life, these included; The introduction of Tax Credits for families and individuals on low incomes, Every Child Matters a 5 point framework to improve the quality of life for all children, Connections an easily accessible advice point on a range of topics for young adults ages 13 19yrs, SureStart aimed at giving babies and young infants the best start in life by providing advice, drop in centres and child care for their parents. People who face social exclusion often live in the same locality; council house estates for example, which tend to have a higher proportion of single parents and high rates of unemployment. These groups of people are frequently given negative labels, which over time can become self-fulfilling. For example, a young child growing up in a single parent family on an council estate as indicated above is more likely to be viewed negatively and given such labels as; trouble, lazy, good for nothing, which over time can have a detrimental effects upon the child who will begin to view themselves as the labels placed upon them (Llewellyn et al, 2008). This negativity can lead to an increase in truancy, which in turn will lead to a poor education and employment prospects, thus setting up a life in poverty (Mail Online, 2007). According to Bebbington and Miles (1989), children from an impoverished background are 700 times more likely to be involved with social services than children from a wealthy background. This statistic alone shows how vital it is for social workers to have a strong understanding of the impact and experiences living in poverty can have. It is argued by Cunningham and Cunningham (2009) that many professionals in the social work field feel overwhelmed by the structural inequalities faced when tackling poverty, this tends to mean that poverty is dealt with on an individual case basis. Changes in policy, both at national and at local level can have an impact on poverty by the way services are implemented and delivered. As social workers are present at both the point of service and within the organisations where policies are made, it puts them in a prime position to affect change. Understanding and recognising the factors that cause and keep poverty part of modern society will allow a social worker to understand how they can interrupt the poverty cycle encouraging positive change. Placing some of the responsibility for poverty on society and within the structural inequalities that exist, can sometimes be viewed as taking responsibility away from the individual and the choices they have made, making them less accountable. A social worker should always maintain a positive and optimistic outlook and believe that despite the inequalities that exist, change is still possible regardless of the situation. It is important to understand how the education system and health and social care organisations are set up in the UK to recognise how this can impact the access to care. Responsibility for education in the UK has become a devolved matter for each individual country and overseen by their own government. The Department of Education and The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills predominately oversee the education system in England, with involvement from Local Authorities. Since 2005/2006, Local Authorities are given a grant which is ring fenced for the purpose of education and with consultation from all schools under the Local Authorities control, the finance is distributed, (Department for Education, 2010). There are approximately 20,000 public schools in the UK; a growing number of these are faith schools, almost 7000 at present. In addition to these state schools, there are a growing number of independent schools, almost 2600; responsible for the education of 7% of the population, (Independent Schools Council, 2010). There schools are funded primarily through tuition fees and in some faith schools, donations from the associated church. A large proportion of these schools are faith schools who do not take children outside the designated faith of the school within their catchment area. Historically, health and social care has been provided by the private and voluntary sector. Until the introduction of the Poor Law Act 1930, the majority of care for those in need was provided by charities and the work houses. People who lived in poverty had to rely on hand-outs, if they were deemed worthy of charity, or would have to pay at the point of service. Often it was those most in need of the service that were unable to pay forcing them to go without. The Poor Law Act 1930 moved the responsibility of care from these sectors to the Local Authorities, who began to take over the work houses and Poor Law hospitals (Spicker, 2010). The National Health Service was established in 1948 with the ideology that everyone should be entitled to the same level of health and social services which were free at the point of service. Todays modern National Health Service is overseen by the Department of Health. The country is split into 10 Strategic Health Authorities who control the care provided by the trusts in its area. Care is split into two main areas, Primary and Secondary care. Primary care services include; GPs, Opticians, Dentists and NHS Direct. Secondary care is acute health care and normally only accessed in emergency or extreme situations and includes; The Ambulance Trust, Emergency and Urgent Care Units, Mental Health, Care and NHS Trusts. (NHS, 2010). The National Assistance Act 1948 called for Local Authorities to set up Health and Welfare comities, providing the first form of residential care. In 1970, The Local Authority and Social Services Act of the same year created the first Social Services departments including; childrens, welfare and mental health. (The National Archives, 2010). The National Health Service remained largely unchanged until 1990 when the first major reforms took place. With the general population living longer, the cost of providing care was increasing and becoming unviable. The organisation of the National Health Service had also become unproductive and unyielding to those it was meant to help. Bureaucracy and red tape became the norm when trying to access any services or treatment. The National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 was the first step in the reforms to the health and social services departments. The introduction of the Purchaser/Provider split meant for the first time since the establishment of the National Health Service, government departments were no longer responsible for the provision of all services (Kirkpatrick et al, 1999). The reason for this was threefold; firstly, to lessen the financial responsibility of care provision, secondly, removal of public provision would allow the private and voluntary sectors to grow and expand, making the care market more competitive, and thirdly, to increase choice for service users. This act was also the start for a number of large care homes and institutions being closed and the care provided in the community. The principles behind these changes were well intentioned; allowing people to be cared for within the community promoting independence and control over personal care. However, in reality what was offered were standard care packages and limited resources which did not deliver the true freedom of choice that was promised, (Llewellyn et al, 2008). To supplement the care provided for under the new system, many people have turned to charities to help fill the gap left by the lack of financial assistance. Providing people with the finances to pay for their own care, rather than provide the care itself, has meant people are able to choose how and by whom the care is provided. Many people have chosen to pay friends and relatives for the provision of care rather than rely on agencies and strangers. For Social Workers, this gives an opportunity to think outside the box when producing care plans with individuals. In communities, people are now able to form groups and committees to address and tackle problems and difficulties to provide a tailor made solution. This not only gives people control over their own care but also encourages the community to take action and to help itself. Although the UK has the biggest National Health Service in the world (NHS, 2010), the change in direct care provision and growing reliance on the private and voluntary sectors is more in line with the health and social care services in the United States of America (USA). The USA has a minimalist National Health Service which provides the most basic of health care; caring for those on very low incomes and or in emergencies. Many people living in poverty will be eligible for Medicaid which is a healthcare programme paying for the whole cost of care, but poverty alone is not an automatic eligibility criteria. Many older people, 65yrs and over, are reliant on the Medicare system, which only covers 80% of the cost of care, the remaining 20% must be funded by other means. Anyone who is outside the eligibility for these benefits must pay for private health care insurance, unless it is provided for through employment, (US Department of Health Human Services, 2010). Another benefit provided by the USA government is food stamps; however this is being phased out and replaced by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, which is a short term benefit aimed at getting families back on their feet, (US Department of Health Human Services, 2010). The health and social care system in the USA is structured much the same as the UK, in that the government provides each state (Local Authority) with a budget to spend on care. In addition to this, states in the USA are allowed to set its own tax rates on things such as Income Tax, Sales Tax and House Tax. The proportion of money put back into care differs between states, some providing a higher level of benefits than others. The USA has a much higher dependency than the UK on voluntary organisations, namely the church; who provide care and financial assistance to those in their communities. Comparing the UK and the USA, there seems to be a different attitude towards the provision of care. The UK system is geared up to help prevent poverty and social exclusion, whereas the USA system is designed to help people get out of poverty but placed a bigger reliance on the individual helping themselves. Both systems are becoming more reliant on the community, voluntary organisations and the private sector for the provision of care; lessening the financial burden on the state in the face of an ever aging population. Both countries seem to be unified in the attitude that people should help themselves out of poverty. Although the role of the Social Worker will always be required, there is a strong shift in the role from the provision of direct care to one of care co-ordination. To provide the best possible level of care for both individuals and the community, Social Workers must maintain a high level of knowledge of both statutory and non-statutory providers of care and how best to access them. This essay has demonstrated that poverty is a global problem which is maintained by the way society works by socially excluding people and keeping them impoverished. It has also shown how two similar countries differ in their approach to care; the UK government provides the majority of care with assistance from charities and the private sector, whereas the USA government provides only the most basic forms of assistance which a strong reliance on the church, charities and the public sector. Both countries are in agreement that with an increasing older population, each government needs to do more to lessen their contribution to the provision of care. During this time of change, Social Workers will need to find a way of providing the best possible care for those in their charge.

Sunday, August 4, 2019

Philosophy Statement :: Education Teaching Teachers Classroom Essays

Philosophy Statement â€Å"Give a child a fish and he eats for a day. Teach him to fish and he eats for a lifetime.† ~Author Unknown Teaching is not a profession but a life choice to change the world one child at a time. In a classroom there are four walls and within those four walls lies the opportunity to build strong foundations for tomorrow. I believe there are three aspects to teaching; touching the mind (mental), the heart (emotional), and the hands (physical). If you take a young child to the lake, a river, or even a stream and teach him to fish he learns techniques mentally, feels loved and wanted emotionally, and learns that he is growing physically. The same can be said for a classroom. Instruct a child’s mind, love a child’s heart, and hold a child’s hand and success is instantly recognizable. The three walk hand in hand toward a child’s overall development. The mind must be stimulated to learn. Children learn what they see, not what they are told. Although my objective is to teach on a high school level, I believe that the same is true with teens. Parents declare, â€Å"Do as I say not as I do,† but children replicate what they are exposed to on a daily basis. If a teacher is not excited about what she is teaching neither will the student be excited about what he/she is learning. Moods are contagious, make the atmosphere outrageous! It is my desire that students see my enthusiasm when teaching my content area and that excitement ignites a fire of passion for learning within the individual student and the classroom as a whole. Young people today have a strong desire to feel wanted. They want to fit in, they want to look cool, they want to be loved and fall in love, they simply want acceptance. It is my job as a mentor to nurture those basic needs of emotional development at the adolescent age. I vow never to ridicule a student for a wrong answer, never chastise a pupil in front of peers, and never embarrass a child for the sake of demonstrating my authority. Students need to have a sense of belonging and purpose within the classroom and the world outside, nurturing their heart and emotions is critical during these years.

Saturday, August 3, 2019

Creationism vs. Evolution Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Where we come from is a question as old as mankind itself. There are countless numbers of religions, each with their own twist on the origins of earth and mankind, but one of the most highly visible debates would be creationism vs. evolution. Depending on where your beliefs lie, the Earth has been around somewhere in the neighborhood of 6,000 years to 4.5 billion years. One would tend to believe that this vast difference in time would make it impossible to have 2 â€Å"theories† that are so widely accepted. However this debate gives you just that. Each argument has its variations, however it comes down to either God created the Earth and all things in it as they are now or that life today has evolved from a single one-celled organism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to Genesis God created the Earth and all things in it in 7 days (actually six days and one day for a little R&R). There are within the belief wide ranges of explanations for the scientific discoveries in modern times. In 2000 the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) created a committee to study the first three chapters of the Book of Genesis. What they found were 4 different views of creation days within their group. The first view is that God created the world in 6 consecutive days, with each day being a normal Earth calendar day (24 hours), any geological formations seen today (such as sedimentary rock formations with ten’s of thousands of years of different layers) are said to have come from the Flood in Noah’s time. The most generally accepted date of the creation of the Earth was October 22, 4004 B.C.E. Certain groups such as and especially Christian fundamentalists who believe in the inerrancy and literal interpretation of the Bible a re the main subscribers of this train of thought. One example of how this would be possible even when scientific evidence suggest that the Earth is far older then 6,000 years is that when God created things, he created them with a history. Trees would have been created already containing rings. New mountains would appear already eroded. In short, the world would appear much older then it actually is. Other examples such as the â€Å"Gap Theory† states that the days were in fact 24-hour periods, however there were large gaps of time between each one of them, enough time to accommodate many geological ages. The second view is th... ...tionism. Arkansas wanted equal time for evolution and creationism, while Louisiana was looking for either both be taught or neither. These laws were met with great resistance and were later deemed unconstitutional under the 1st amendment. In an ironical turn of events fundamentalist and evangelical Christians are now trying to get creationism back into the lesson plans of the science department, a total 180 from just 2 decades ago.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The evidence supporting evolution continues to increase, and someday we may be able to prove without a doubt that mankind developed from a more primitive species. Some fundamentalist groups though may never update their way of thinking no matter what science is able to prove, however, in my opinion, the vast majority of the â€Å"developed† world, will eventually make their way to a theistic evolutionary outlook. The combination of science and religion will offer someone the gift of knowledge with the piece of mind of knowing there is some guiding force, and not just some natural process without a specific goal. Albert Einstein said it best when he said, â€Å"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.†

Friday, August 2, 2019

The Philosophy of Teaching Essay -- Education Teachers School Essays

My Philosophy of Teaching Philisophical teaching stratigies include the following disciplines, essentialism, existentialism, and many others. Of these stratigies the philisophicla approaches each include a distinct direction in the style and type of learning taking place. Lessons should include these philisophical teaching stratigies within there designed properties. Although all of the stratigies may be able to incorporate all learning disciplines and learning styles a lesson does not need to contain the entire array of philisophical stratigies. Informitive lessons may take place without all stratigies invovled. William Bagley's essentialsim is one of the philisophical styles which I find to be a large protion of the melting pot which I agree to. The essentialsim style is a basic philisophcial idea pertaining largely to math, science, history, and literature. This style of basic fundamentals can create a strong backbone of learning and knowledge. The essentialsim philosophy not only provides the student with a background in many disciplines and views, it also offers the student more. The student also gains by essentialism due to its influence of character. This building and concentration of character allow students not only to gain knowledge , but respect and confidense. Although this style is not my soul reliance. Essentialsim also focus's on the teacher more heavily. The idea follows the style of a larger group learning enviornment. This mass style learning allows for less individual attentiona nd intsruction. Not all students learn in mass groups and not all students require personal attention, thus the blend off other disciplined styles must be required. Essen... ... usefullness which it provides students. The curriculum is advantageous to the students as well as society, becuase it allows them to learn from previous mistakes and achievments and install those into their lives. My future educational goals after graduation are somewhat unorthadox in style compared to that of the average post graduate.Many graduates seek to continue their higher education at an institution where a masters or phd can be earned. I plan to recieve my post graduate studies at an institution of much lower levels. The curriculum I plan on teaching will provide a prfound and invaluable post graduate studies program for me. The actions of daily teaching coupled with the problem solving situations of daily school activities will engrain in me an understanding and furthured education which no higher educational institution can provide.

High class students most likely to be successful

Historically, societal categories are common social division in every exited society,Bespeaking assorted positions among its ain people. As for American society, harmonizing to Warner ( 1940s ) societal category is categorized into five groups such as upper category, upper in-between category, lower in-between category, upper lower category and lower category. There is, nevertheless, small uncertainty that affluent category has better resources and agencies to accomplish the coveted end. Students from better societal category must, hence, have better entree to instruction and have higher graduated table of accomplishment in school. Indeed, in order to derive better penetrations into the influence of societal category on school accomplishment, a proposed inquiry is set out on this intent.Learning installationsPart of larning installations is school uniforms. Bray and Seng ( 2005 ) do a clear comparing between affluent and unwealthy pupils, keeping that pupils from comfortable or mediu m-income household normally can afford two new apparels every twelvemonth, whereas pupils in hapless household normally have one uniform or none at all. Students from comfortable, accordingly, derive the upper manus in go toing the school than do the students from less comfortable household since most schools in Cambodia require pupils to have on school uniform to go to the category. Another portion of larning installations is learning stuffs. As Bray and Seng ( 2005 ) outlined in their book â€Å" Household Financing of Basic Education in Cambodia † , pupils spend big amount of money on larning stuffs such as notebooks, exercising books, and other supplies runing from pens, pencils, gum elastics, swayers and the similar. It is logical to reason that lone pupils from comfortable household can to the full afford to purchase such dearly-won stuffs ; hence, they are more likely to be successful than other pupils from less affluent household. Deriving entree to such dearly-won la rning stuffs, in add-on, is a beginning of motive for affluent pupils ; nevertheless, it is unfortunate for hapless students. Burt ( 1945 ) stresses the importance beginning of low motive from lower working category, who is, by tradition, outside educational system ( as cited in Lawton, 2001, P.7 ) . Harmonizing to Burt, if pupils from higher category might, though he did reference, have higher chance in wining in school than those from lower category.Auxiliary TutoringOut-of-school disbursal or auxiliary tutoring, significant private activity, is another major disbursal non merely in Cambodia but besides in other states. Tutoring in Cambodia is taught to pupils by their ain instructor and it take topographic point at pupil ‘s place, particularly at the terminal of the official school twenty-four hours. This pattern is a peculiarly critical point of family outgo ( Bray 1999b, 2003a ; Foondun 2002 ; Yoo 2002 ; Kwok 2004, as cited in Bary and Seng, PP. 11 and ADB 1996a & A ; Bra y 1999a, as cited in Bray, P. 47 ) . It can be inferred that merely more comfortable pupils can afford to engage coach for this out-of-school category. If they receive more excess categories, they would be better informed about their academic public presentation at school.ConveyanceKampuchean students throughout the state usage bike as their chief agencies of transit. Some kids walk to school while others are transported by their parents. Many students, nevertheless, start siting bike as they proceed from one category to another ( Bray and Seng, 2005 ) . Consequently, it might non be lucky for hapless pupils to afford bike. However, having bike, pupils must extra money for buying and keeping. Bray and Seng ( 2005 ) supply a clear evident. In Phnom Penh, students had to pay non merely for initial purchase and care of bikes but besides for day-to-day parking. In Bak Touk school, for illustration Grade 6 students had to pay an norm of 7,200 riels per annum for parking, and grade 9 students paid every bit much as 43,600 riels.DecisionThere is adequate apparent to reason that high category pupils are likely to be more successful in school. As mentioned earlier, larning installations play a critical function in kid ‘s accomplishment in school. As in Kampuchean context, pupils from lower category might non hold plenty resource to back up their acquisition stuffs, except high category pupils with sufficiency of resource. Rich pupils merely have adequate acquisition resource, but many of them besides can afford to hold auxiliary tutoring, doing them even better with their school academic public presentation. Transportation is besides accounted for pupils ‘ success in school. Affluent pupils have better agencies of transit to school, unlike less affluent pupils who have limited agencies to school.

Thursday, August 1, 2019

Burial Practices Throughout the Ages

Society has always looked for a way to honor its dead. This has been the case since the earliest of times. There are rituals in all populations that mark the various passages each travel through in life. For instance, we mark an individual’s accomplishments in graduating from college, or getting married. It is no different in death. Death is the final passage that civilizations throughout history have found ways to honor. Burials and the ceremonies that commemorate them, offer the survivors an opportunity to pay homage to the life that has been lost.It gives them a chance to celebrate the deceased for accomplishments, life and family. The burial ceremony allows the survivors a chance to mourn, and express their grief to others. The ceremony helps those left behind to heal from the pain of the loss. From the early civilizations to the present, burial rituals have told us a great deal about the social behavior of the population. In most cases, children and elderly were buried ju st the same as the younger, stronger male. That tells us that the population valued its people and grieved their loss.In the middle and late Iron Age, burial practices reflected a diverse community. In the area that is now Britain, an individual was buried in two separate areas. For instance, there are areas where single bones are buried, as well as locations where the rest of the body is found. During the Iron Age, the breaking down of the human body indicated ritual activities. This was done at death or shortly after with the use of excarnation. Excarnation is allowing the body to be exposed until it reaches the skeleton stage. At that point, the cranium is usually first to separate from the body, followed by the feet and hands.This process will usually involve the chopping of skin, or soft tissue (Redfern, 2008). Once body parts are separated, the secondary burial can be completed. The body processing also included breaking bones to remove joint cartilage. Archeologists have noti ced that the bones found in secondary sites usually have cut marks, and fractures (Redfern, 2008). The Neanderthal was different in its method of dealing with the dead. In fact, the Neanderthal buried its dead in a painstaking ritual that occurred in stages with the consumption of the deceased person’s body parts.Nevertheless, the Neanderthal left gifts on the graves of those who died. Statistics indicate that 40 percent of the graves that archeologists have examined have been of the very old or very young. That fact indicates that the civilization valued both its elderly and children (Friedermann, Muller, Hemm, 2008). The burial practices of the pre-pottery Neolithic civilization found individuals buried in shallow graves. Some graves contained only one person while others contained many. Archeologists discovered 21 artifacts related to 15 graves in Atlit-Yam, on the Northern coast of Israel.Most of the items were tools, axes, and other household items. The graves at this si te were simple. There were a few secondary burial sites, as some skulls were detached from the body. The burial site was covered with lime plaster on its surface (Galili, Eshed, Goher, Hershkovitz, 2005). In the third millennium burial practices in the Oman peninsula feature tombs circular in shape with un-worked stone that had a single ring around it. The tomb had between two and ten chambers within it. One tomb at the site of Unar 1 was large enough to hold the bodies of 438 people.A smaller tomb found at Unn an-Nar Island only held between 34-48 individuals. Inside of the tombs, archeologists found ceramics, soft-stone objects, bronze, beads and shells. These items and burial method indicates a collective manner of living. There were some cremations discovered in this period as well (Blau, 2001). A burial cave found in the Aleutian Islands dated back to 390 BD. gives a glimpse into the function of the society. Inside the cave were found hearths and work places. Human bones had ar ranged stones around them. There was an additional stone arrangement at the back of the cave.In front of the cave, in the habitation area, animal bones and artifacts were found. The bodies were in a sarcophagus in wood or stone coffins. There is some discussion among scholars that cave burials may have been just for the better off (West, Lefevre, Corbett, Crockford, 2003). Burial rites in Sophocles’ Athens featured the use of tombs more than cemeteries. The tombs are found along roads or at passageways or gates. Antigone believed that all people are entitled to burial. The words tumbos and herion mean mounds of the land that cover the deceased and mark where the individual is buried. The word, taphos means the tomb.The grave or tomb generally was located in a public location. The idea that the dead should be separated in some way from those living is not a part of the Greek culture. However, late 5th century walls have been found that divide up tombs from one family to anothe r. Monuments always face the street or public square. The Romans of the same era prohibited the burial of any individual within the city. (Patterson, 2006). Murders in this era were executed for their crime. After execution, they were stoned and thrown out of the city without being buried. Suicide victims were buried but not provided a headstone.People of good standing were given ceremonies that featured songs. Then they were placed in a decorated tomb (Patterson, 2006). Heroes and those killed in battle were given a public funeral with games, oration, and sacrifices. Solon devised the rules for burial in Athens. He said the deceased should be laid out within his home. The next day, he would be carried out of the house on the board he was laying on. When they carry the dead out, men will walk in the front of the procession. Women walk behind. In addition, no woman under age 60 could enter the chamber of the dead, or the tomb.(Patterson, 2006). This is quite different from the days o f Jesus where women were in charge of caring for the dead. In Medieval times there is a diverse burial rite found in the use of boats with regional and temporal variations found. The Sutton Hoo Mound is a large ship-type grave. Most of the boats used were dugout logboats. Some of the civilizations used boat timbers or boat parts to cover the grave area (Brooks, 2007). Scandinavia is well-known for its adoption of burial by boat. The Swedes and Norwegians practiced boat cremations; however, such is rare in Anglo-Saxon areas.The exception to this is the site at Sutton Hoo Mount three. At that site there is a tree-trunk made like a coffin that was used for cremation (Brooks, 2007). By the time the 18th century came around, most people in England were buried in unmarked graves in a churchyard. The ground was consecrated and the service was performed by an Anglican clergyman. He used the book, â€Å"Book of Common Prayers† for the service. In 1689, however, the idea of personalize d funerals and pre-planned ceremonies came into being. The more affluent bought coffins. This lead to the development of the undertaker profession (Gitting, 2007).The very affluent built themselves a mausoleum on their land. The most famous ceremony was for John Knill, the mayor of St. Ives. He established a trust and asked that a ceremony be performed every five years. The ritual featured ten girls, who were under the age of ten. It also featured two widows, the vicar, and mayor and customs officer. All paraded to the mausoleum on top of a hill. The ceremony featured dancing, and singing, â€Å"Old Hundredth, â€Å"All people that on earth do dwell† (Gitting, 2007). Ironically, the ceremony was last completed in 2006. After the American Civil War, the ideal of embalming became popular.Prior to this Americans relied on the European methods establish for the preservation of the body. The use of embalming gave family a chance to look at the person one last time and accept his or her death. Embalming was used after Lincoln’s death to allow him to lie in state for individuals to witness, (Funeral Industry, n. d. ) In conclusion, burial rites of differing civilizations tell us a story of how the people lived, as well as how they died. It explains their values, and speaks to the kind of society they lived within. For example, south of Cairo a 5,000 year old tomb was discovered.Inside of the tomb archeologists found the bones of 10 donkeys. (Burial Site, 2008). This indicates the value this civilization placed on the role of the animals. Therefore, burial rites explain much about ancient civilizations, but also tell us a great deal about ourselves. Although the rituals may have changed, the overall purpose is the same and that is to honor the dead. References Blau, S. (2001). Fragmentary endings: a discussion of 3rd-millennium BC burial practices in the Oman Peninsula. Antiquity, 75, (289), 557 Brooks, S. (2007). Boat-nvets in graves in pre-Viking Kent : Reassessing Anglo-Saxon boat burial traditions.Medieval Archeology, 51, (1), 1-18 Burial site a high honour for a lowly beast. (2008). In Mac lean’s, 121, (16), 55 Friedermann, S. , Muller, S. , Hemm, C. (2008). The Neanderthals. New York, NY: Routledge Publishing Company Funeral Industry. (n. d. ) In Encyclopedia of Death and Dying. Retrieved April 30, 2010, from, http://wwwdeathreference,con/En-Gh/funeral-industry. htm Galili, E. , Eshed, V. , Gopher, A. , Hershkovitz, A. (2005). Burial practices of the submerged pre-pottery Neolithic C site of Atlit-Yam, Northern Coast of Israel. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 339, 1-19Gitting, C. (2007). Eccentric or Enlightened? Unusual burial and commemoration in England, 1689-1823. Mortality, 12, (4), 321-349 Patterson, C. (2006). The place and practice in burial in Sophocles’ Athens. Helios, 33, 9-48 Redfern, R. (2008). New evidence for Iron Age secondary burial practice and bone modification from Guss age, All Saints and Maiden Castle (Dorset, England). Oxford Journal of Archeology, 27, (3), 281-301 West, D. , Leferve, C. , Corbett, D. , Crockford, S. (2003). A burial cave in the western Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Artic Anthropology, 40, (1), 70